While the holiday season brings families together, it also brings out endless amounts of stuffed turkey, fruit pies and other deliciously unhealthy foods. During this holiday season, focus on keeping your fitness and health goals in mind and don’t allow yourself to be swayed by temptations. Here are several ways you can stay on track with your goals.

Bring Your Own Dishes to the party

Bringing your own home-cooked food to a holiday party guarantees that there will be something you can eat that will fit within your diet regulations. It doesn’t have to be same food that you eat during the week, try looking into healthy holiday recipes and see if you can make yourself a treat that won’t make you feel tempted by the other foods that will be around you. Try looking into low carb brownies, cauliflower-based pizza or whatever else your body might be craving.

Announce Your Goals

Sometimes the best way to hold yourself accountable is to tell your friends and family that you’re on a health journey. If you explain the importance of this journey and how determined you are, they will respond positively and won’t make you try the pecan pie that grandma made. It’s also a good reminder to hear yourself repeat your goals to instill that dedication back into your mind.

Prepare your meals in advance

Cheating on a diet can happen when you’re not prepared. When you’re hungry and you don’t have time to wait for the chicken to thaw out, you might just decide to go out and get burgers. You can avoid this by meal-prepping. While meal-prepping can be a several hour process, it will save you from having to cook three times a day. If the thought of eating the same thing over and over again for days disgusts you, then try meal-prepping for three days and then switch it up. There are many ways to meal prep, and always having food that you can eat nearby will help you avoid the temptations.

Stay on track with your routine

Don’t let the holiday season and cold weather make you forget your commitment. While snuggling up inside your house and drinking hot cocoa sounds nice, staying on track with your goals should be your main priority. Go to the gym in the morning so that you can have the rest of the day to lay around the house. Plus, once you get that workout in you’ll feel so thankful afterward, and your body will also be thanking you.